The United States of Japan

Japan didn't set out to be a pop-culture superpower. It just played out that way.

This week, I’m experimenting with recording an audio version of my essay. Love it? Hate it? Let me know what you think!

Two news stories from Monday’s headlines, seemingly unrelated: Noah Lyles' Yu-Gi-Oh! cards: Love for anime inspired 100m winner (USA Today) and ‘Too many old people’: A rural Pa. town reckons with population loss (The Washington Post). …